The Miserable Friendzone
by I'm A Metaphor
Summary: Eponine is madly in love with her one friend Marius. She keeps hope that he'll notice her one day, until new girl Cosette catches his eye. Modern day AU. I kind of suck at summaries, just read it.
1. Chapter 1

Being in love with someone who doesn't love you back is unbearable. I really don't know how I do it. I don't know why I sit there everyday, listening to him talk about that new girl, and stay silent. It hurts, more than anything I've experienced. And I've been through a lot. But this, rejection, this friendzone, it might as well be suicide. Everyday, pretending it doesn't hurt, pretending I hope she likes him back, that they'll be together, I can't imagine any pain worse than that. And the worse part, out of all of this, is she deserves him. Cosette, hell, even her name is prettier than mine, but anyways, she's beautiful. And nice, and I know she likes him, and I know they're going to end up together and live happily ever after. Me? I'll just be lucky to get out of this hell hole. Like I said, I've been through some _things._ But we'll talk about that later. Let's start this story from the beginning of my despair. The day Cosette transferred to East Paris High.

They day started like any other, with the usual fiasco that is my family.

"Eponine!" Screamed my father, banging on my door. My alarm to get up. I looked at the clock, it was only 5. I guess it was a foreshadowing. "Get up, I need you to run an errand." Translation, I'm on parole and we're out of milk. I need you to go steal some.

"Okay!" I shouted back and grab a five dollar bill, unlike my parents, I don't steal. I walk out the door of our 2 bedroom public housing apartment and head to the local gas station. On my way back, I see him. Marius Pontmercy, wide receiver of the East Paris High Rebels walking his dog. I keep my head down, I really don't want to see me like this, a ratty t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that have seen better days. Sadly, my efforts mean nothing. He spots me almost instantaneously.

"Hey, Eponine!" He says, smiling. God, that smile could cure cancer and end world hunger. I wave at him and continue on my way. Come on, you're almost there. But, Marius isn't finished. He and his dog chase after me. Shit. I stop speed walking and wait for him to catch up.

"What's up?" I ask, when he finally reaches me. That stupid naïve part of me thinks maybe he finally realized how much he likes me and this is his confession.

"Are you coming to the game tonight?" He asks. And, of course, I was wrong.

"I don't know," I say to the ground, not wanting him to see the disappointment in my eyes. "That's not really my scene."

"Please, Eponine." He faux begs. And I couldn't help but smile.

"I'll see what I'm doing." I said and started to walk off, "See you in English!" I was going to that game. I was going to every game, I always did.

When I get home, no ones awake. I close the door carefully, and head to our only bathroom before my sister Azelma, hogs it.

I'm ready for school before my alarm goes off. Go figure. I hide out in my room while I wait for the bus, I really don't like to socialize with my family more than I have to. When it's finally time to head to the bus stop, I grab Azelma, whose shoving a piece of toast in her mouth, and we leave. Azelma, pissed at me for dragging her out of the house before she was finished, walks ahead of me. I don't mind, though. She and I have never really gotten along. As we walk, I see Marius pull out of his driveway in his Jeep. He's offered me rides to school before, but I really don't want him to know where I live. Plus I really can't trust my sister to keep her mouth shut.

The bus ride and my first morning classes fly by and before I know it, it's time for English, 1 of three periods I have with Marius. I get there before him, like usual. Unlike Marius, I don't have a large following of friends to stop and chat with between classes. When he does finally get here, he's followed by Enjolras, the quarterback. Enjolras has always been friendly enough to me, and I'm not going to lie, he is quite the looker. But Enjolras is the kind of guy whose more focused on football than anything else. It's basically his life, he treats each game like it's a great battle and he's the general of the army. Personally, I think he takes it a bit too far, but he's doing what he does best. Leading. I wouldn't be too surprised if Enjolras ended up president one day.

Marius and Enjolras are in a deep conversation, probably about football. And step on backpacks and feet as they make their way to their desks, right across from me. The teacher, a surly looking woman, comes in the classroom and hushes the boys. She begins a long lecture about War and Peace and I quickly space out. I've already finished the book for the second time, her talking about isn't going to help me understand any better. I don't really pay attention until the principle enters the room followed by her. Her long blonde hair falls in soft waves down her back, her heart-shaped face looks nervous, and her bright blue eyes search the room. Her gaze quickly falls on Marius, and... There's a look, impossible to describe, that falls upon one's face when the find the person of their dreams. That look was on both Marius and that girl's face. For moment, kind of like in movies, time stood still. They both looked at each other with that intensity and all I could do was watch. I sat there, watching the love of my life, fall in love with another girl. Finally the moment was broken.

"This is Cosette Valjean, she's just transferred here. Show her a warm welcome." Mr. Myriel said, leaving Cosette in the care of Ms. Simplice.

"Find a seat child," ordered Ms. Simplice, she hates new students more than us, and that's saying something. Cosette looks around the almost full classroom, trying to find a seat. Her eyes land on the one empty chair, which just happens to be next to Marius. I stifle a groan and avoid looking at either of them, but I can't stop my ears from hearing their conversations. I hear her laugh at something stupid he says, and her ask him about War and Peace and hear him propose a study date. It's just that simple. A couple of sentences back and forth and my heart is broken.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just to make this known, I'm not the author of Les Mis, sorry to disappoint. Also I would like to apologize for any misspelled names, their French and I have auto-correct that changes them to really odd things so letters get messed up as I try to retype them and it's just a bad time for everyone. If I do misspell something, feel free to tell me. I'd appreciate it.**

The rest of the morning went by in a blur of Cosette. If I didn't have a class with her, I was hearing about her. She seemed to be the name on everyone's lips. Marius especially. My heart, recently broken, had a hard time sitting next to him at lunch. Every time he said her name, I could feel the cracks deepen, going further and further. Waiting for the right moment to shatter.

"Cosette's just so amazing!" Marius exclaimed to the table after he dumped his tray. I could hear the groan most of the guys let out. I guess the constant talk of Cosette was getting on everyone's nerves. But Marius, like always, was oblivious and continued the never-ending rant. "She's everything I could ever want. Nice, funny, smart, and beautiful, I mean, I don't think I've ever seen a girl that gorgeous. Not even in the movies." Everyone turn their head to me, being the only female at the table. Their pity clogs the air around me, and I have to look away. This time though, Marius catches what's going on. "Oh, Eponine, I didn't mean it like, um, that. You're really, uh, pretty, too. Like in that... you know, way." He stutters and everyone laughs. He tries to continue, but it's mostly just umms and uhhs. I stop him before it gets anymore painful.

"Really Marius, it's okay. I get it, she's prettier than me, it's not that big of a deal." I lie and plaster a smile to my face. I still feel everyone's pity, but it's not so overbearing anymore. Just uncomfortable. For the next few minutes nobody says anything and there's an almost impenetrable silence. But luckily for us, Enjolras is able to break it. Unluckily for me, it's about football. He says somethings about plays, and honoring our schooI colors, red and black just in case you care. Halfway through, I decide it's time for me to go to the bathroom. I sneak away from the table, watching as each boy holds onto every word Enjolras has to say. His conviction fills each syllable. Despite that all he talks about football, Enjolras is fascinating to listen to. He almost makes football interesting. Almost, but not quite. So I head to the bathroom, hoping it's empty, and for the first time today, something goes right and I'm all alone. I head to the sink and look into the mirror, thinking of Marius's earlier comments.

My nose is a little long and my forehead is a little high, but my cheekbones are well-defined, my lips are full, and my brown eyes are on the large size. Everything else is average, so if I was going to rate myself, I'd say about a seven. So why am I still single? Don't get me wrong, I'm not desperate or anything, but I'm a senior and haven't had the slightest hint of a relationship. There has to be something else wrong with me. Something that isn't just on the surface, something that has to do with what's on the inside. Otherwise why would a moderately active girl surrounded by horny teenage boys still hasn't been kissed? I was so caught up in this wondering what's was wrong with me, I didn't notice another girl had walked in until she was standing next to me. I look over and immediately recognize her wavy blond hair and ski slope nose. She notices me looking at her and smiles.

"You're in my English class, right?" She says, even though she knows the answer. I nod and continue to stare at my reflection. She tries again to start a conversation. "You're name's Eponine?" She asks, and just like before I nod. "That's a very pretty name." An awkward silence falls upon us and I start to leave the bathroom, but she grabs my arm.

"Can ask you something?" She looks at me with those big blue eyes, and I can't help but nod. I shouldn't be so cold to this girl I barely know just because Marius likes her and not me. It's not her fault. Well I guess it is, but not on purpose. She smiles at my nod, then bites her lip. "Does, does Marius like me? Because, I know I just met him and everything, but he just seems so nice, and h so cute. And I was just wondering, I've only done this whole dating thing once." She shakes her head. "So I'm not very good at this. Sorry for the rant, what I'm trying to ask, is Marius being serious about this date or...?" She doesn't finish her sentence, but I can tell her only relationship was not a good, and once again I take pity on this perfect girl. I pause for a moment and assess my situation. If I tell her the truth, Marius and her will be together and happy. They'll be the "it" couple of EPHS. And I'll be on my own and miserable. Or I could lie, and then everyone would be alone and miserable. I know the right thing to say, I really, really do. But I can't bring myself to that sort of heartbreak, but I can't do that to Cosette either. So, instead I shrug my shoulder and walk out of that bathroom as fast as I can.


End file.
